Welcome to the world little ones, may there always be wind u

Kitaya had been given the night watch, after a day of birthing new calves into the world she was exhausted, but duty called and she had just enough time to wash and change before she trudged down to the sands and dumped herself on the stands after a quick check over them all. It was going to be a long night she admitted with a long sigh as she settled in with her blanket and some food to tide her through the long night. A thermos of hot tea sat beside her, a gift from the kitchens to help her stay awake through the night. When she woke up there was a humming in her ears, eyes sliding open to a very blurry Zane staring at her with whirling blue eyes.

*CRACK*

The loud noise had her sit bolt upright on her seat. Gods how long had she been asleep, and since when were firelizards the size of half grown puppies. She rubbed her eyes again at the blue form the flopped about the sands finding its feet. Her eyes were quickly drawn to the egg shells he seemed to trail from. Gods he was a handsome fellow and she moved down the stands for a better look, that was when it dawned on her, in the early morning hours, the eggs were hatching. She cursed herself to hell for not having a firelizard or dragonet of her own, they were really quite useful fellows. There was a humming from her shoulder, well.. now that didn't seem right, her shoulder didn't hum. The heavy weight on it made her look to see Zane, and soon an entire fair of them had popped in and perched around her.

"Quick get everyone, the eggs are hatching, tell them to hurry and bring meat too"

She ushered quickly to the firelizards and as they disappeared she dashed for the sign they had made for the occasion, hanging it up on the entrance wall for everyone to see before she returned to watch the blue stumble about his siblings still in their eggs, it hadn't seemed to dawn on him yet that she was there, and Kita for the moment was happy to keep it that way. The 'Oblivious' Blue as she called him was content on inspecting his surroundings and wondering how in his name did he get there, not that he really remembered anything from before.

To the entrance stood a large heavy sign one had to walk around to get in, in big bold letters that could be seen clearly in the dim was written.




[[Yes everyone the big day has arrived, at both a surprise to you and me. tis 4am and they decide to start rocking, and yes this is the actual time the eggs will hatch too ^.^.. so bring everyone in, spectators, candidates whoever.. Oh and those with firelizards or dragonets, you are to be rudely awakened by your partners as Kita has told them to get everyone. Those outside the Caldera with flits will know too and trasport sleds will be mobilized to get everyone there. Good luck everyone.. Oh and don't forget there is a little blue boy wandering around.]]

Spring was tugging on Ayana's hair. She was just woken up when Otania ran into the room. Sky and Earthquake right behind her. Ayana then clued in.

"The hatching!" Both girls ran about throwing on clothes and fussing with there hair.

They both then ran to where the eggs were kept. Their firelizards safe and out of the way in Ayana's bed. Ayana was first to get past the sign and she gasped in suprise as a little blue was walking around the eggs. Otanis had the same reponce as Ayana went to her station. Otania would have sat on the sidelines to watch but she had to go back an keep an eye of their firelizards..

Soldier
Soldier slept lightly whenever he slept having trained himself to get fully awake at any suspicious sound near him or for any emergencies that might occur. And so, with the sudden appearance of Caesar popping into existence from who knows where, Soldier was up and awake on his feet. He looked around his room assessing any immediate danger.

Caesar, who had been with the other firelizards and dragonets had shown up in Soldier's quarters humming like crazy and kept projecting rocking eggs to Soldier. And the only words that Caesar projected to Soldier were, Come. Hatching.

It was only until those words that Soldier realized what those rocking eggs meant. With a curse, he quickly changed and donned his armor as he usually did whenever he left his room. He went towards the Hatching Sands in a jogging run passing by the dining cavern to get himself a bucket of meat that he hoped where all ready for all those that would be passing by to get buckets of their own for the hatching. When he arrived at the place, he saw that he was not the first one to get there. He went towards his assigned place to stand. He set down the bucket of meat and waited. As he did so, he wondered when Sashike would arrive. He had seen the blue dragon roaming about the eggs and kept careful watch of it in case the dragon decided to come barging towards him.

Trent

Trent had been peacefully sleeping, he'd moved his stuff to the candidate barracks just so he closer to the eggs. He unfortunately didn't have a firelizard or dragonet of his own, so he didn't have one that woke him up unexpectedly. Lucky for him though someone with one knew what was going on and started banging on the doors in the barracks, yelling at everyone to get up the hatching was starting. He quickly through his covers aside and got dressed. Then he made his way to the hatching ground and was sure to obey the rules. He saw the little blue walking around and was amazed at the creature. They were going to be perfect.
____________________________________________________________

Sashike

Kazuma about went into a fit as he got the message about the hatching. In a frantic he roused Sashike by nipping at her nose. Grumpily she got out of bed. "What is going on?" She asked him huffily, but when she got what he was telling her, the huffiness went away. She got out of bed and dressed, then went to the hatching grounds. A blue was already out wondering around. She smiled at the awkward looking creature and took her spot in the candidates' section.
____________________________________________________________

Tabitha

Tabitha had slept a bit, but for some reason she wasn't staying asleep tonight. So she was up working like usual. As she was working she heard a commotion going on. So she left the room to see what was up. Someone with a flit was rushing by and she managed to ask them what was going on. "The eggs are hatching!" The person told her. Without hesitation she went with the person to the hatching ground. The thing that caught her eye first was the blue, he was the cutest yet most awkward thing ever. She stood next to Sashike with the rest of the candidates and waited.
____________________________________________________________

Malcolm

Juergy woke Malcolm out of a deep sleep, which he was not entirely happy about. Still he knew something had to be going on for normally the bronze behaved himself. Once he got what was going on, he was moving about a mile a minute to get dressed and to the hatching ground. At first he didn't notice the blue, but once he saw it, the little blue was all he could look at. This was going to be an awesome day.

Fiona had been off-duty, resting at the Candidates' new quarters. It was blessedly quiet. Not that she minded noise as a rule, but there were times when she needed a respite, as much as anyone else. So she was dozing, having not yet even changed her clothes. Work had run later than usual. It didn't bother her; she bunked alone,
after all.
Except, of course, that 'alone' was a relative term when one had dragonets or fire-lizards.
Blaze appeared out of nowhere, as always, sounding agitated. Fiona sat up on her cot, frowning. "Darlin', what--?" Then she caught the images Blaze was sending. She got up and quickly made her way out of the barracks, to the hatching grounds. Blaze took off as they entered, perching on a nearby rock outcropping. Fiona took her place among the other candidates, watching the eggs with a mix of anticipation and caution.
One egg had already hatched, she noticed, seeing the blue apparently looking for someone. The other eggs were beginning to crack.

Jonas

Jonas had heard the buzz, and well, Mari was spazzing out, not her usual, but more like excitement. He could feel it as well. He got up, and went to make sure his fellow candidates were getting ready as well.

"Now Mari, I want you calm?" He asked the green.

Even though the green could never stay still, he knew that, but he didn't want her go streaking about the place, when there's hatching going on. He didn't want to scare any of them, because Mari is either afraid of something, or someone, or sees something of her fancy.

He then made sure that he was ready, before heading out to see the eggs for the first time.

---

Emera, ever so watcher

Emera decided, if Trent would be there, to try one of these things, then she would make effort to show up. She heard about it, just as she was leaving for the day, to tend for her mare. Emera was very pleased about him. He seemed nice.

So, instead of going out, she went back, to put something nicer (well, she knew that it was clean, and taht she could still ride in it), and well, her habit made her put the whip right where she always have it. She didn't realised until she tried to sit down.

Alex
Alex, never a light sleeper, was dead to the world when his dragonet and firelizard popped out into existence. He only woke up after Warrior landed on his chest waking him up in the process. "Hmm... Wah..." he said as he brushed sleep away from his face with his hands. He looked at the clock on the wall opposite his bed and saw it was barely dawn.

As soon as Alex seemed more awake, Beloved projected feelings of urgency and expectation. She was humming as she projected those feelings to Alex. Warrior, blessed with Menta-Synth was at least able to communicate better and sent images of rocking eggs. He only said one word to Alex, Hatching. which was enough to propel the young man into action.

"Shells!" Alex exclaimed, a curse he had heard Kita once shout out in a pique of irritation, as he got out of bed and made himself presentable. Well, at least in his own mind. Everyone else thinks that Alex should do something about his dread locks and the beard and mustache that he currently sported but they were too intimidated to actually tell him about it. Anyways, he changed clothes in a hurry and put on his shoes. The thick-soled ones like all the rest of his shoes that he owned, of which there only two pairs. The other pair were his dress shoes which he usually wore for more formal occasions when he is in army dress clothes.

Alex swung by the dining cavern as he knew that the dragons would need food when they hatched. Beloved and Warrior had hatched hungry and voracious and he could just imagine how hungry the dragon would once they finally hatched out of their egg. He took a bucket of meat with him but he knew that other helpers would be along their way bring more buckets of meat for those that forgot to swing by the dining cavern. As he hurried towards the Hatching Grounds, he noticed that he wasn't the only one making their way towards the place. He wondered if Tabby knew about what was happening and hoped that she wasn't overworking herself with work. She was much like him, workaholics in their chosen professions.

Beloved and Warrior flew after Alex, humming as they went. When Alex arrived at the Hatching Grounds, Beloved and Warrior, flew to one of the ledges where they both had a perfect view of what was going on. They saw that there was already a blue roaming the sands.

When Alex arrived, he saw there were quite a few people already there. He also saw that Tabby was present and he released his breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding in when he surveyed the crowd of people in the Hatching Sands. He made his way quietly to his assigned station and waited with the others. He saw the blue dragon and started in surprise. He didn't know that they would be that big when they hatched. Still, with those large eggs, it would be more of a surprise if those creatures were tiny. He did keep alert but his eyes kept straying towards where Tabby stood and smiled at her like some crazy loon. Everyone else would notice that Alex was clearly in love with the beautiful woman that he kept staring at.

ASDRA & GONNETH

They had only just met recently, but they were already spending countless hours discussing strategies, playing games, correcting each others' past mistakes...it was an odd friendship, but a friendship nonetheless. They had both fallen asleep in Gonneth's room in the candidate's barracks, and they hadn't been asleep that long yet.

All at once, Cobalt and Twilight both lifted their heads, as if listening to a distant call, looked at each other, and tore towards their respective bonded and began waking them up. Twilight was creeling right in Gonneth's ear; Cobalt was tearing at Asdra's hair.

As such, Gonneth jumped upright in his chair, and Asdra awoke with a yell of intermingled confusion and pain.

"W-wh....what is...it....Twilight...?" Gonneth almost seemed too tired for his stutter to be bothering him. "It's...so early..."

"Cobalt, you nuisance, what the hell was that for!?" Asdra bellowed, his voice making Gonneth's ears ring all over again. Together, the two firelizards sent images, relaying the message they got.

It took a few moments for it to sink in, but all at once the pair found themselves fully awake and running out into the corridor, hitching a ride with one of the passing sleds to make their way to the hatching sands, a bucket with meat each in their hands.

As they arrived, they saw that a great many others were there before them. Asdra immediately began clearing a path for himself, calling out, "Make way! Candidates coming through! Let us through!" and other such things. Gonneth mumbled apologies to everyone he saw grumbling, closely following in the wake left by his friend, out towards the sands...and to the hatching eggs. Twilight and Cobalt watched from their bonded's shoulders, eager at the excitement all around them.

Geneva

After two in the morning, the infirmary usually enjoyed a lull in activity. Geneva had been taking advantage of the quiet and was stretched out in a cot, an arm thrown over her eyes to shield from the ever-present lights. There was a nurse filling out paperwork at a nearby desk, and it was she who alerted the paramedic of the impending births. A brown firelizard popped into existence over the nurse's head and landed in the woman's frizzy hair, clinging to it while sirening the alarm.

"Geneva!" The medic came fully awake, springing up and staring at the spectacle of the brown tearing at the nurse's hair. "They're hatching! The eggs, the dragons! Go, go!"

Geneva paused only long enough to snatch up her first aid kit before pelting out of the infirmary, heading for the sands. She passed several residents who had their arms full of large buckets of fresh meat, but she didn't dawdle to assist them. When she arrived at the entrance, she tossed the kit to the nearest observer and called, "Hold onto this, just in case!"

Then, scrubbing her hands on the front of her coveralls and taking a pail of meat, she stepped carefully out to join the other candidates, ending up near Gonneth by seeming chance. A wary, narrow-eyed look went to the one hatchling already free of his shell.

Kateri

Gleeful shrieking drew Kateri out of a deep, dreaming sleep. Someone was pulling at her ear, and it hurt. "Nuh? Stop!"

She flailed a hand at her attacker and was rewarded with scolding, her blue firelizard's chittering loud enough to wake the dead. Kateri pushed herself up in the cot and stared with blurry eyes at Dream, who was walking back and forth across her legs.

"What? What's wron--" The girl bit off the rest of the question when she saw the other candidates sprinting out of their quarters. The eggs! She gave a little squeal and leaped out of bed to throw on a loose pair of pants and a t-shirt, as well as the heaviest boots she owned. Travel to the sands passed in the blink of an eye, so quick was Kateri's pace.

Dream flitted in before her, humming loudly and going to join the other small creatures heralding the dragons' arrival. Kateri dawdled near the entrance, excitement quickly replaced with a gut-clenching anxiety when she saw one of the new babies already out of its egg.

"So big," the girl breathed. But what had she been expecting, something the size of a firelizard? Kat gave herself a shake, trying to shed the nerves, and seized one of the buckets of meat from the helpful folks who'd brought them and were passing them out to the candidates. Then she strode forward to take her place in the ring that was forming.

Roman & Lesla Kincade

All Roman could think of as he sprinted for the Hatching Sands was how he was so thankful that he & Lesla had stayed the night in the Caldera. If they'd been at the ranch... Roman shuddered at the thought. As it was, he'd been awakened by an excited Zane, who proceeded to show him pictures of a blue hatchling exploring the sands. Startled, Roman had woken Lesla and together, both in the clothes they slept in, hurried to the sands.

Once they arrived, the twins went and stood by Kitaya on the hot sands. Roman, catching sight of Trent, sent the younger man an eager smile before looking back and grinning affectionately at Kita. His veteranarian and friend handed him a bucket of meat, and he almost asked, What for? before remembering what she'd told him. After graciously passing the bucket to Lesla, Roman went and grabbed a pail of his own before returning to Kita's side.

The blue was a handsome thing, and Roman wondered how the hatching would go on. Did they pick the dragons? Did the hatchlings pick them? He was madly curious as he watched the eggs and the blue hatchling, who was now wandering towards the gathered crowd of candidates.

Zane, now that he'd done his job, went and perched with the other fire-lizards, who were now filling the Cavern with their steady humming. He occasionally cast glances at His, but for now, his attention was otherwise involved.

Morgen

For Morgen, it had seemed like it took an act of God to get them to the Sands. To start off his morning, Rhain had woken him by chattering urgently in his ear. When he finally opened his eyes, the brown sent him a mental image of the eggs rocking. Immediately, Morgen sat up and began to prod Avalon at his side, eventually waking his love. Once he'd gotten dressed, he ran out to the stables and threw halters over Gallahad and Emrys; there wasn't time to fully tack them up. When he brought them up to the house, Avalon was waiting and together they set off at a gallop up the Caldera.

When they finally reached the Sands, the couple tied their horses outside and entered the Cavern. The atmosphere was contagious, and soon Morgen was grinning like a schoolboy. Eventually they made it up into the stands, where the pair sat down and waited eagerly. Morgen saw Kira on the grounds and gave her a encouraging smile; his "apprentice" was a candidate, and he wished her the best of luck. When he finished looking over at the crowds, Morgen gave Avalon a tender, sleepy smile before turning his gaze back to the rocking eggs.

Adrienne Zeryth & Cally Huntington

Ugh. Why, oh why at this time of the morning did Lynx have to be pulling at her hair? With an angry sigh Adrienne went to sit up, only to be pulled back down by a possessive arm over her waist. What in the hell? Turning over, she was met by a dark, handsome, sleeping face: Mikhael. Damn it. She looked down to make sure she still had clothes on, and after a moment she realized nothing had happened. She'd only fallen asleep in his bed after staying up late talking to him. Well, that wasn't so bad....

Her sleepy thoughts were interrupted by Lynx, who was now chattering urgently to His. When she questioned him mentally, the bronze sent her a mental image of rocking eggs along with a strong command. Hatching. Come NOW. Starled by the strength of his emotions, Adrienne pushed Mik's arm off of her waist and sat up. With an resigned exhale she pushed the man she shared a bed with gently, saying,

"Mik. Mikhael. Wake up. The eggs, Mik. They're HATCHING."

Her voice got louder as she registered what was happening. The eggs were finally rocking, and if they didn't hurry they'd miss them. Practically jumping out of the bed, Adrienne threw a tank top and her leather pants on before moving over to Cally's bed.

"Wake up, sweetie. CALLY. The eggs are hatching, girl. C'mon, Lynx says a blue has already hatched!"

When the child didn't respond as fast as she liked, Adrienne forcefully picked the girl up and stood her on the ground, supporting her under the arms.

"Do you mind wearing this?"

When Cally shook her head no, Adrienne left the room, almost dragging Cally by the arm as she left. She glanced behind to make sure Mikhael was following, and once she was assured of that she ran hand-in-hand with Mik's daughter towards the sands, Lynx following happily.

When they entered the Cavern it seemed that Cally had finally come to her senses, and Adrienne was able to persuade the sleepy girl to climb the stairs into the stands. That accomplished, she grabbed two buckets of meat; one for herself and one for Mikhael. Her tasks complete, the mechanic turned her bright blue eyes to the eggs. Nevermind the crowd of candidates standing around her; the only one who really mattered to her, Mikhael, had his arm draped over her shoulders, and thus Adrienne was able to watch the rocking eggs intently. The blue hatchling was such a pretty thing, but he didn't seem too interested in them....

Thus, Adrienne surveyed the eggs, with a humming Lynx curled around her neck. He wasn't concerned about the other fire-lizards perched above; the bronze wanted to be sure that, in this big of a crowd, His was safe.

Auguste groaned and tried to pull the pillow over his head as Cloud screeched in his ear and scratched at his blankets. "Lemme alone...needta sleep..." he mumbled, swatting the blue away. If Cloud could have rolled his eyes, he would have. There was only one solution! Grabbing a lock of Auguste's hair in his claws, he tugged hard.

"Aaah!" Auguste sat bolt upright in bed while Cloud blinked between. "Not the hair, you little bugger!" He scowled, waiting for the blue to return, which he did in a moment. Cloud chirped apologetically, then projected plaintively, Hatching!

"Oh my!" Auguste was already swinging out of bed and running to his closet. "Thank you, Cloud!" He pulled on his clothes, then glanced in the mirror, running a brush quickly through his hair. It didn't look too fabulous, but he didn't have any time. Dressed and ready, he ran to the Hatching area.

He didn't have far to go, for his residence was in the Caldera. Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside. Auguste carefully made his way through the crowd, then joined the other candidates. His eyes were soon glued to the eggs. There was a world of possibilities right here, and he couldn't wait to see how the Hatching turned out.

***

Silv was awake already. Henry had run to him in the middle of the night complaining about a nightmare, and he was trying to get the boy back to sleep. When Ivy zoomed into the room, chirping loudly, Silv glared at her. He wasn't in the mood for her antics right now.

She alighted on his shoulder, digging her claws in urgently as she sent him images of the rocking eggs. Henry swallowed a sob and stared at her, intrigued as always by the green. Silv gasped, standing up with Henry still in his arms. "The Hatching is started! Daddy has to go," he informed his son, hurrying to find Otania, who had volunteered to babysit. After dropping the grumpy Henry off with her, he continued to the Hatching area while Ivy flew up to join the other dragonets in the stands.

Silv was calm and composed as he walked out onto the sand. He took his place with the candidates, back straight, eyes straight ahead as he waited for whatever was to come.

Kira
Perhaps it was Fate that had Kira living in the Candidate's Quarts for she had not been living there for more than a couple of weeks when Hatching had commenced. Kira had been soundly asleep in her bed, she slept on her side so she could keep an eye on Ryoushi. Kira knew that her wolf should be giving birth soon since it has been at least two months since Ryo had been artificially impregnated with the enhanced wolf DNA.

And then, her sleep was rudely interrupted by Kagemusha who suddenly burst into view and summarily landing on her side. "Omph, Kage! What's the..." Kira's outburst died on her lips as Kage was able to communicate to Kira that the Hatching was happening. "Darn it! It's barely morning, those dragons sure know how to stir things up." Kira commented aloud as she changed into one of her outdoor hunting clothes. She didn't know why she picked that particular set of clothes but, with their greater mobility, Kira should be able to get out of harms way should she face a dragon coming onto her.

She got out of her room and along the way, she pounded on doors shouting to wake everyone else up, "The Hatching! The Hatching is happening! Get your butts up and get there!" Kira shouted hoping those sleepy heads will awaken to her shouting and not miss the Hatching because they were too sleepy to awaken.

She had let Ryo stay in her room for she didn't want Ryo to be running and she wanted to let Ryo sleep in more. She did leave the door partially open so that Ryo could nose her way out when she wakes up and goes looking for her. Kira was confident enough that Ryo won't maul anyone she meets, unlike the wolves from Earth. Kira made sure that Ryo was a very sociable wolf and not afraid of strangers or children.

She hitched a ride with one of the sleds going towards the hatching grounds. When she got there, she was amazed at how many people were already there ahead of her. She was about to go on her way towards her assigned station when someone grabbed at her arm. She spun around ready to defend herself but it was only an older man that was handing her a bucket of meat. She smacked herself on her forehead for she had all but forgotten about dragons being hungry when they hatch. She was very thankful to the older man and said her thanks. She then made her way to her assigned station and after setting down her bucket of meat waited with the rest. She didn't know what will happen. She did notice the blue that was roaming about and she wondered if they were supposed to approach the dragon or to let the dragon approach them. She looked at the other eggs wondering what other colors might hatch from them.

Kagemusha, when he finally caught up with Kira landed on her shoulder and waited with her. Humming along with the other firelizards and dragonets, so loud that Kira could barely hear anything else around her.

Kaimry was sleeping soundly, when she felt something warm dripping down her ear. " huh......?" She slowly opened her eyes and put her hand by her ear."My ear is bleeding.....Emmy!" She realized her firelizard had bitten her on the ear."Why did you do that?" Emmy then sent Kaimry mental images of eggs hatching."What do you mean...Oh the hatching.. thats nice...The hatching? Oh man I'm gonna be late!" She quickly got dressed and ran though the hall."oh no....I hope im not late for the most important thing to happen here since, ever." She finally takes the right turn into the hatching sands. The first thing she notices is a small blue dragon wandering amoung the eggs."That is awesome...."She then goes and sits down with the other candidates, Emmy sending pictures of eggs hatching and hungery mouths to feed all the while.

Mikhael

His arm pulled the warm body in his arms closer, what in hell was that woman trying to do he was sleeping and comfortable and wanted it to stay that way, with her in his arms. Then her voice and the hands against his chest made his open a bleary eye, which snapped open when he comprehended what was going on. He watched Adrienne with tender eyes as he pulled on his boots not much caring if he had only a singlet top on, though it seemed he had fallen asleep in his flgiht pants. She was getting Cally up and he couldn't help but feel his heart warm..

Pulling on a jacket he followed after Adrienne, and when she found Cally a seat he moved over to his sleepy daughter and shrugging off his jacket wrapped it around her shoulders and pressed and endearing kiss to her forehead, with a little ruffle of her hair he left to go stand next to Adrienne, drapping his shoulder affectionatly around her shoulders.

"Good luck sweet"

He whispered softly in her ear, giving her a soft affectionate squeeze.

======================
Kita

There was an affectionate smile for Roman back, her cheeks flushing a little although she was a little put out when he passed the bucket to his sister and got himself another one. She stayed quiet though and held her tongue, this was going to be a happy occasion even if she forced herself.

======================
Beth

Although she had no flits of her own she had been rudely awaken by her neighbour and tumbling out of bed she pulled a thick night gown over her long night dress. Slipping her feet into a pair of slip on night shoes she made her way to the sands where it seemed to commotion was. She spotted Cally on the stands looking awfully tired and gathered the girl, Mik's jacket and all into her lap to watch her 'brother' as she called him with his arm around Adrienne. There was a soft smile on her face for him, glad he had found some companionship.

======================
Jase

He rolled over in bed, and the tossed again. He probably would have fallen straight back to sleep had it not been for Sean's Blue Rin who burst in loudly chattering and humming, tugging at Jase's arm. With a sigh Jase pulled on his clothes and trudged out his door, plastering that all familiar smile on his face as he left. Well now it was a suppose to be a happy occasion. He caught the first aid kit tossed at him by Geneva, and with a sigh took a seat in the stands to watch, indeed the blue was a handsome fellow but he didn't feel anything for him.

======================
Sean

He had been rudely awoken by Rin, twittering in his ear. Swatting at the blue to leave him alone he was suddenly assaulted with several images. He almost splattered the blue against the wall when he threw the blankets back so he could dress almost in a tizzy. Rin alighted back on his shoulder humming loudly in his ear till Sean swatted at him and shooed him off.

"Go on Rin, get Jase he can't miss this"

He urged to the blue who blinked out leaving Sean to make his way to the sands on his own. Reaching the sands his breath stuck in his mouth in awe at the blue that still stumbled about.

======================
Ravana

Ravana was still awake in the early hours of the morning, reports were to be done if she was to keep a top of her duties as a Squadron leader. There was a skitter as Lulu crash landed on her desk, making her wonder as to why the golden flit was there. She was Mikhael's shouldn't she be bothering him. The the images flooded her mind and with a chirp the gold was gone again, leaving Ravana nothing but stunned till it sunk in. She moved with an orderly fashion though and tidied herself before she took it upon herself to move in an orderly fashion down towards the sands. She fought to hide the awe on her face as one of the genetecists pushed her onto the sand, she had never been chosen so why. Then she saw the number of candidates and her mouth formed and 'o' as she realised why she had been pushed out there with the others a pail of meat suddenly in her hands.

======================
Arturius & Artemis

Gawain was being a pest and Myrddin wasn't helping either with that loud humming. The only time those two had been a pest and hummed like that was when Artemis had her children, but she wasn't pregnant again so what else. Vague memories of the old ranch and their humming everytime a mare foaled had him sit suddenly upright.

The HATCHING!

The thought suddenly dawned on him and he fell out of bed in a tangle of blankets hitting the ground with an awkward thud. The thud was loud enough to wake the twins in their cot beside his bed and that brought Artemis in who burst into laughter at seeing him on the floor not much care for her two crying children.

"Oh Arty you look so funny like that. Did you have a bad dream or something?"

She teased him as he ordered himself and stood quickly moving to calm Romulus and Remus. He had moved back into the Caldera with the twins, being almost a month since he had spent time with his sister and Morgen. Quickly dressing himself he gathered the twins in his arms and turned to look at his sister.

"Artemis you silly twat the eggs are hatching, go put some clothes on"

With a gleeful giggle Artemis fled to get dressed, not that she would put much more than she was wearing back on. There was another gleeful giggle as she streaked past his room almost wearing nothing. He wondered sometimes if she ever felt the cold because even in winter she had a favour for dressing in almost nothing. Well with a sigh he made his way down to the sands juggling the twins as he did, taking a seat with Avalon and Morgen, glad to see they were there. Much to his and his sister's dismay Artemis sat there clinging to Morgen's arm giving a very audiable commentary of the hatching.

======================
Avalon

Oh that morning had been hard, she hated being woken so early. Looking up she saw Morgen getting dressed, it didn't take long for her to notice what was happening. Her wrist was almost ready to come out of the cast and she pulled on one of her loose dresses which came to her knees with a pair of tights that almost reached her ankles. She pulled on some pretty but still practical shoes and a light jacket to protect her from the chill of the morning. Her short blonde hair was brushed out lightly leaving the wavy curls to almost reach her shoulder. Quickly she wrote a note for Granny and left it on the table, as had been arranged between them.

By the time she got to the porch Morgen had Gallahad and Emrys ready. Bareback, oh now she wished she had worn something else but it was too late to change now. With a deftness which was only mildly hindered by her cast bound wrist she mounted Gallahad, although the stallion had made things easier for her by crouching. Mounted up she followed after Morgen in their dash up the mountain, ever thankful that both horses knew and were masters of the steep climb up. Letting Morgen tie up Gallahad she took the time to pluck and brush his palomino hairs from her tights between her legs where they had rubbed.

Taking a seat next to Morgen she watched him survey the others almost growling at his look for Kira, all was forgotten when he laid his eyes on her. There was a sleepy and tender smile back for him as she laid her head on his shoulder. Suddenly disturbed by her sister's sudden loud and rather inappriatly dressed appearence as she sat and clung to Morgen's other arm much to Avalon's disgust and possessiveness. If it hadn't been for Arturius sitting next to her with the twins she probably would have killed her sister. Morgen was hers, and hers alone though he was yet to ask her to be his forever. Seeing Arturius struggling with the twins she reached out and took one from him with a soft smile, snuggling Remus close to her body. There sister might be a horrible mother but she loved her nephews dearly and would do anything to make sure they were happy, she sure did miss their company at the ranch. For now she watched heart in throat at the beautiful sight of that first blue.

The little blue stumbled no more, as his head suddenly swung about very much so aware of his surroundings. The quiet blue stumbled a bit viewing everyone, he knew there was something pulling him towards them but who too. As his head swung about there was another loud crack from a neighbouring egg that had him skitter sideways to miss the copper brown tail that slammed down beside him as the egg split open, wings opening wide like some character from a horror film as the brown decended upon the sands scaring the little blue into running straight for the stands with a cry.

'Otania.. He..he..he's chasing me....He's scaring your Verreth.'

The little blue cried as he came tumbling to a halt at the railing staring up at her, wanting her to come down to him. The copper brown however still loomed around the sands as yet another egg began to shake and crack.






[[Here's the first baby.. ^.^ see don't have to be a candidate or of the right age to impress. The first pixel is the baby pixel and the second is them as an adult. I'll edit the profiles to have the descriptions in them for everyone ^.^ ]]

Zander
Zander was not a morning person at all and when he heard Elegance humming so loudly, he shouted whiningly at her to, "Elegance! I'm trying to sleep her so shut the heck up!" But Elegance would not be silenced and she proceeded to send images to Zander of eggs rocking, of a blue dragon roaming around, and of people arriving at the scene where the eggs were rocking.

Zander pushed away the pillow that he had been holding up on his head to try and block out Elegance's humming, in irritation, he asked, "What on Pern, are you on about..." His irritation forgotten as Elegance's sent images finally made sense. With a shout, he exclaimed, "The Hatching!" startling Elegance and making her squawk at being frightened by Zander's shout of exclamation.

Since Zander like to sleep without a piece of clothing on, he had some difficulties finding proper clothes to wear. He didn't want to be there looking indecent. Not that he had any indecent clothes about. He chose a nice pink V-necked long sleeved shirt, a pair of black leather pants, and black boots finished his outfit. He check the mirror making sure his hair wasn't a mess. With a wink at his reflection, he turned around and was on his way towards the Hatching Grounds to watch the first ever Hatching.

When he got there, there were already a lot of people around and looked about hoping to find a free space. When he found one, he sat there with a sigh for he had been running and he was feeling tired from the run. He looked around and found himself seated beside a handsome looking man. He smiled sweetly at him and then turned his attention towards the sands. He saw that there was a blue as Elegance had sent him the image and idly wondered if Elegance had come from this place before she went to wake him his sleep.

Elegance, when Hers was finally seated, proceeded to perch on the ledge where the rest of the Dragonets and Firelizards were perched as they hummed loudly, heralding the hatching of the dragon eggs.

And then, another egg split open and Zander watched as the blue was running towards the railing that separated the sands from where the spectators safely watched the Hatching. He said aloud, "I guess those dragons choose whom they want then." as he shrugged his shoulders. He then turned his attention back the other dragon who had hatched and wondered who would be the next lucky one to be chosen by a dragon.

Trent gave Emera a nod and a smile, happy that she had decided to come watch the hatching. The little blue was still just roaming around happily. That is until a brown hatched and scared the poor thing. Instead of running to one of the candidates though, he ran to the spectators. There he apparently impressed to a girl that was not a candidate. This was going to be an interesting hatching.

Tabby saw Alex come in and smiled from ear to ear. She was really starting to like the handsome sled pilot. She hoped he would be near her for the hatching. There was just something about the man that she was really attracted to. Another egg had broken open and this time a brown fell out. He was a beauty alright, but he scared the poor little blue. At least the blue found the one he wanted even if it wasn't a candidate.

Ryan

For years he had kept Miliary hours, 0600 wake up with no exceptions. 25 push ups, 25 sit ups, 2 mile run with a 1 mile walk cool down. There were only two differences these days; there weren’t many reasons to fight, and not paying attention would get himself killed. With no fire lizard to warn him of impending Thread, it seemed venturing far outside was taking a risk with your life. Enough lives had been ruined and taken, all because some slug things decided to fall out of the sky and consume everything organic. That was some messed up crap…

It was still fairly early, only the early risers wandering down to the dinning hall for breakfast. With no Thread due that day it seemed safe to take Chloe out for a ride. The sturdy chestnut mare was pretty much the best companion he had left on this planet, and he felt like he had been neglecting her this past few weeks. She needed exercise too, but at least with the herds she wasn’t lonely. Still, a little treat in the form of a carrot he smuggled out of the kitchens couldn’t hurt.

Within the hour Chloe was saddled and prancing in delight to be free of the coral after all this time. It did feel good to venture out of those tunnels, away from all that rock. Much too cramped and stuffy. A chattering above him forced him to look up, some firelizards arguing before flying off in the direction he had come. Odd creatures, maybe why he didn’t have one yet. Still, their behavior in the past and still today wasn’t to be completely ignored. A few more sightings unnerved the man, sure these were wild ones, thinking maybe it was time to turn back. A rainbow of winged creatures seemed to be descending onto the volcano. Ryan thought hard, trying to remember what that mea-… HATCHING!

Cursing his rotten luck he had no time for delay. Shutting the gate on Chloe, saddle dumped on the ground he ran for the hatching grounds. Already there were crowds of people, candidates and spectators alike and two hatchlings already out of shell. The blue looked already attached to a girl form the crowd, but the eggs were still rocking and the firelizards still humming. With a sigh of relief not to have missed everything, but now he wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to do now. He had never attended one of these hatching things before…

~~~~~~~

Hannah

Since being persuaded to act as a candidate, Hannah had been mostly evicted from egg procreation activities like monitoring. It had been felt that she would need to be prepared in the up coming weeks for the day of reckoning would come at anytime of the day. Reasoning considered they did have a point, predictions and manipulations indicating a need for much choice for the young hatchlings. However there was no way to accurately determine what would qualify to bond with the ‘dragons’.

There she went again, being technical even within the confines of her own mind. That’s why she was somewhat isolated, being quite incapable to interact normally. Being 30, she was likely to never change. There was naught she could do to defy what had to be fate, instead turning her attention back to her breakfast. At least that wasn’t rocket science…

Some time past, and Hannah was finished eating when someone came running in shouting of the hatching. The eggs were hatching! It was finally time to see the results of all their hard work. Even as she discarded her dishes her mind tried to map out the egg settings of which ones she had helped work on. However that did not mean she herself would be the guardian of Pern’s latest defense force. Being middle aged it was hoped younger, more adjustable youngsters would be able to dedicate the rest of their lives to learning and bettering the new race.

Noting the blue hatchling, it jumbled all of the woman’s mental notes. Weren’t most of the eggs supposed to be larger creatures in hope of rapid multiplying the population? No, never had she nor would she now start questioning the reasons of the great minds who made this all possible. So far there were males, they needed a female…

Roman

As Kita gave him a smile, he reached over and hugged her shoulders reassuringly. He mistook her mood for nervousness, and, thinking to encourage her, he said,

"Remember our conversation from a few weeks ago? You'll be fine."

That said, he turned and looked over to his twin sister, who was watching the blue and something else with a rapt expression. Following her gaze, Roman watched as the blue took off for the stands just as a larger brown came out of his shell. At the way the brown landed, Roman couldn't help but laugh. He looked like some figure from one of the horror movies back on Earth; the way he stood with his wings flared was, for a reason unknown to Roman, hilarious.

Laughing, Roman's eyes shone with mirth as he watched the brown's antics. The blue, most likely startled by his brother, was crooning to a girl who looked to be leaving the Sands.... Wait. She wasn't a candidate? Well, this might not go according to everyone's plans.

It didn't really matter to Roman that much, but he was worried that Kita might have an objection. Warily he looked over at her face before turning back to the amusing brown.

Morgen

As Artemis came up and molded herself to his side, Morgen gave Avalon a strained, pleading look before turning to his love's sister.

"Hi, Atremis. Arturius. Miss me, did you Artemis?"

As he said this, he gently pried her hand from around his arm and sat back, wrapping his hand around Ava's fingers possessively. Studiously keeping his eyes from Artemis's scantily dressed form, Morgen looked at the twin boys and gave them each a smile. They were so sweet; it was a shame they had to call someone like Artemis their mother. Giving Arturius an understanding nod, Morgen turned back to the Sands. From the looks of it, the blue had attached himself to someone; a someone who haad been making their way off the sands. Now, that was interesting.

Movement caught his attention, and he saw a brown testing his wings near a broken shell. Ah. So, another one had hatched. The hunter was fully awake now, and most of his attention was on the eggs; the only other thing that was occupying his mind was the feel of Ava's hand on his. It didn't seem like he'd ever get used to that.

Adrienne

"Good luck, sweet."

Adrienne, thinking no one was paying any attention to them, allowed herself to lean back into Mikhael. Not that it meant anything, of course. She was just tired, and, well, he was a strong support. In reply to his words, she glanced up at his handsome face and answered,

"You too, Mik."

She didn't even feel like commenting on his "sweet". It was too early in the morning, and besides, the eggs were hatching. She'd have plenty of time to correct him later.
As the blue made a break for the stands, she watched in interest as he stopped in front of a young girl. So, they didn't have to Impress just to candidates? That would make for a.... exciting hatching. Looking back to the rocking eggs and the newly hatched brown, she smiled at the brown's "entrance" into the world.

The rapidly moving eggs, though, soon drew her attention away from the brown. With shining light blue eyes, she looked excitedly up at Mikhael before gazing back at the eggs. Lynx, still curled securely around Adrienne's neck, watched the blue and brown warily. Still, his humming nearly vibrated the skin on Adrienne's neck.

Sashike was dumbfounded, which was amazing since she was usually very composed and collected. But as she was watching the little blue in front of her she couldn't help but stare. Then without warning another egg hatched and a little brown popped out. Which sent the blue into a frantic. Sashike was worried for him for a moment, but he seemed to found comfort in someone that was in the crowd. That was unexpected, but at least he found someone.

Malcolm was standing still watching the scene unfold before him. It truly was a miracle that was unfolding before them today. Something that most people didn't think would happen was happening. Yes, the creatures were very awkward, but they had a certain beauty in their own right. Another egg hatched and a brown rolled out. It looked like he was okay though. The blue ran off towards the spectators and surprisingly found someone there.

Soldier
As Soldier waited, he noticed another egg split wide open down the center and revealing what looked like a brown. However, the brown's entrance seemed to have scared the blue out of his wits for the blue ran towards the railing and stopping in front of a girl. Soldier shrugged and bent his focus back on the rest of the eggs and the brown that had just hatched.

Alex
Alex saw Tabby smile and he would have raised his arm to wave but his attention was pulled to the eggs. An egg apparently decided to reveal it's occupant and with a loud crack split down the middle the eggshells falling away from it's occupant revealing a brown with his wing unfurled scaring the poor little blue in the process. Alex saw the blue running towards the railing that separated the stands from the sands. And he saw that the blue seemed to have chosen one of the girls in the crowd. Not knowing who the girl was, Alex turned his attention back on the sands, and keeping an eye on the brown already hatched.

Lesla
Lesla was still half sleepy and was thankful that her brother had woken her up. She was still in her clothes that she had slept in the night before. When they arrived at the sands, there were already people there and she followed her brother to where Kita was standing. Kita had passed a bucket of meat to Roman, who proceeded to hand it over to her. She smiled at her brother and softly said, "Thanks big brother." as a yawn escaped her lips.

She looked around and noticed the blue already roaming the sands. She waited with the others wondering that would happen next when another crack filled the space. Lesla looked for where the sound orifinated from and saw one of the eggs split wide open to reveal a brown. The brown decided to unfurl his wings and successfully scaring the other blue away from him. She saw the blue run towards the stands and seemed to have chosen of the people from the crowd. She just that tad sleepy that she didn't notice if the blue had chosen a girl or a boy.

However, Lesla turned her attention back to the rest of the eggs and the newly hatched brown. She needed to keep her wits about her or she might not be able to dodge the dragons coming her way. She did wonder where Lovely was.

For a reply, Lovely sent her an image of the hatching in progress seen from a ledge up above.

Lesla sent back her feeling of happiness at being in this wondrous Hatching. She hoped that all the eggs would hatched but, these are experiments and there are bound to be duds Lesla silently thought to herself.

Kira
Kira had seen Morgen at the stands with Avalon right beside him. When she saw him give her an encouraging smile she smiled back at him and gave him a thumbs up sign. Her attention was then brought back to the eggs as there was a loud crack. She looked just in time to see an egg reveal a brown. But the brown seemed to have scared the blue for the blue ran towards the crowd. She saw the blue stop in front of someone and he seemed to have made his choice from one of the spectators. She was happy for whoever was lucky enough to have been chosen and turned her attention to the rest of the eggs making sure to keep her eye out for the brown that just hatched.

Cally
Cally was sound asleep when she heard Addy trying to wake her up. But her body refused to listen to her and barely awake let Addy dress her up and drag her along towards the Hatching Sands. She was still too sleepy and she could barely keep her eyes open. When she was seated in the stands, she felt her father put his jacket around her and she hugged the jacket closer to her body. She felt his kiss on her forehead and smiled sleepily at him. She also felt him messing about her hair, but she was too sleepy to care the mess he was making of her hair.

Time passed and she probably would have fallen over in her sleepy state if not for her Auntie Beth who proceeded in letting Cally, jacket and all, sit on her lap. Cally murmured a word of thanks to her Aunt as she leaned back to on her Aunt to try and get some more sleep.

But, there was a loud crack, and Cally locating the origin of the noise saw a brown revealed. Then she was fully awake and finally made aware of what was happening around her. She sat up straighter on her Aunt's lap and said excitedly, "Ooo, Auntie Beth look! There's a brown, there a brown dragon!" as she pointed at the newly hatched brown. She had eyes only for the brown that she didn't even see the blue had chosen one of the spectators.

Stretching his wings still looking rather looming where he sat the copper brown hatchling. He surveyed the others as his sibling near him began to shake in his egg, wanting room for himself to continue looming he gave the egg and almighty kick with his back leg, snorting as it rolled away. Then something piqued his attention, and his swung his head to glare at the owner of such a terrible sound. Was someone laughing at him well that wouldn't do, he was meant to be scary. Wings still half open he stalked his way over to the man who had made that horrible noise and sat down in front of him eyeing him up. Yes, he would do. That would be the man's punishment for laughing at him. Indeed and with that he spoke.

'Roman, It is not nice to laugh at your chosen. I am Cadmuth and would like you to stop that infernal noise, it's irritating'




===


The egg Cadmuth had struck rolled away and in a bold move shattered open with a whip like tail. Puffing his chest out as he stood the bronze surveyed his surrounds. He wanted them all for himself, all of them. Though he knew he could only choose one, he could try to take them all, and one by one he started dragging the unpartnered men along with him, till he came to one man. There he stood staring at him for a long moment, mouth opening to drop all the shirt tails he had been dragging. He couldn't quite make up his mind about the young man in front of him and stood there for several long moments.


There was much pride and arrogance carried as yet another bronze stepped from his egg, this one seemed effortless, and though he held the awkwardness most newborns had he moved with determination. From the time he hatched he knew who was his and moved gracefully towards the man, there was a bow of his head for the lady whom he liked and then moving around the man he had chosen came to stop at his side and look up at the man speaking with much love and yet it was still stern.


'Augustus, Why do you hide your chosen name. It is a strong name a good name. I am Tiberiuth and you will be mine.'




===


The bronze that had hatched first suddenly was in a little fluster, well now he definatly had to pick one now, especially if they were being taken so quickly.. Well he just looked back up at the man he was looking at. That very one which had caught his attention. First he would have to check him out, if he wasn't worth it well oh hey now, a shiney bit of shell.. Dashing with speed never seen in a hatching he grabbed the shiney bits and brought them back, dumping them at the feet of the man he had been staring at. Well he had hands so he could carry them, finally satisfied with the use he had found for the man he spoke.


'Trent, Carry these for me.... Oh my name.. you can call me Demath'

Geneva

The little blue's escape from his brother seemed to have triggered a whirlwind of activity amongst the eggs. Geneva regarded all of this with external calm, arms folded across her chest and eyes sharp as they followed the action. It seemed to be going well, although the blue had opted to go with a non-candidate.

She tilted her head to bring the new hatchlings into view, the two bronzes with their distinct and different coloring, the brown shaded like cinnamon and so sure of who he wanted. A frown marred her brow at the herding behaviour the first bronze exhibited.

Geneva tensed, prepared to dash forward to assist if any of those candidates were harmed. But the bronze let off with a croon, apparently finding someone to his taste, and the medic allowed herself to relax. A little.

"They did remember to insert female genes into some of them, didn't they?" she asks suddenly of the hot, open air.

Kateri

"Beth! Beth!"

Kateri spied her friend amongst the crowd of observers and lifted briefly onto her toes to wave brightly at the other young woman. Her smile could have outglowed the fluorescents. Having seen the blue make his choice without mishap had done a great deal to remove Kat's anxiety, and she was compelled to share the sudden surge of excitement.

The popping of other eggs shattering and releasing their contents onto the sands summoned her attention. She wheeled around, bucket still in hand, to see the brown had been joined by two bronzes.

"Ohh, you beauties," she murmured to herself. As well she might, considering she was safe from their attentions; anyone glancing at her might catch the girl hiding her smile behind one hand at the collecting bronze's actions.

This wasn't going to be frightening, after all. And weren't these new lifeforms beautiful? Yes, yes they were.

Sashike watched in total wonder as the brown broke open the shell of one egg to reveal a bronze. This bronze seemed to want all the males for his own and started dragging them with him. Amongst this confusion another bronze stepped from his shell. This bronze held her attention to most for he seemed to know exactly what he wanted. Sashike's breath stopped as the bronze gave her a bow and then went up to Soldier. She was so happy for him and wanted to tell him, but she didn't want to interrupt him and his new bronze.

Trent was a bit worried when the brown kicked the one egg open, but then the bronze seemed to be fine. Then that bronze started dragging all of the men by their shirt tails and Trent had no choice but to be drug along. Then a second bronze hatched and quickly picked his rider. That made this first bronze let them go. Trent was standing right in front of him, but he didn't know what do. He was staring at it and it was staring back at him. Then in a blink of an eye the bronze was dashing off and grabbing pieces of shell then came back and dropped them at Trent's feet.

'Trent, Carry these for me.... Oh my name.. you can call me Demath'

Trent could only stare at the bronze a bit shocked that he just heard the bronze's voice in his head and that the dragon knew his own name. Finally he came to his senses. 'Um. Okay Demath, but wouldn't you rather have some delicious meat instead?' He asked his bronze.

'Yes, but I want these too. So grab those and then get me food, please.' Demath answered him.

Trent couldn't help but laugh. 'Alright then.' He said then started leading him to food. He searched for Emera in the crowd really fast and spotted her. "He says his name is Demath, Emera!" He said to her really fast, a huge grin plastered on his face.

Roman & Brown Cadmuth

As the brown began to stalk over to him, Roman stopped laughing and watched warily. When the brown made it apparent he was coming to him, Roman broke out in a broad smile. The voice inside his head, though, startled him.

Roman, It is not nice to laugh at your chosen. I am Cadmuth and would like you to stop that infernal noise. It's irritating.

Roman, after bending down so he could look straight into Cadmuth's whirling eyes, couldn't help it. He bursted into more laughter; this moment was overwhelming, and the hatchling's voice in his head was just too funny.

"But... but Cadmuth, I can't..."

Well, try.

Upon hearing Cadmuth's strained voice, Roman quickly shut his mouth and tried hard to keep a straight face. Standing back up, he flashed his sister and Kita quick, ecstatic grins.

"He says his name is Cadmuth!"

Looking back to his hatchling, Roman reached down and scratched Cadmuth's eye ridge. He knew Zane liked that, so he figured Cadmuth might. His mental voice apologetic, Roman asked,

"Are you hungry?"

In a flustered, somewhat annoyed voice Cadmuth responded,

Of course, mine.

Plunging his head into the bucket of meat Roman offered, the brown gave His a chance to watch Trent and Soldier interact with their newly hatched bronzes. They were all amazing, but none were as handsome as his Cadmuth. With a satisfied sigh he looked back to the gorging hatchling, smiling widely as he did so.